The moon had waned, but the night still belonged to predators. Malik ran like one of them—muscles rippling under a coat of jet-black fur, breath even and focused, paws silent against the pine-covered earth. His crimson eyes gleamed in the darkness, honed on the scent trail that had teased him for days.
The Alpha.
Elusive. Powerful. Smart.
But even the clever left traces.
And Malik had been watching.
He slowed as he reached a fork in the trail, nose twitching. The scent was faint—days old—but clear. It veered off toward town, just as it had the last four times.
And like those times before, the trail eventually twisted back… to the hospital.
He circled the area, checked side paths, rooftops, underground vents. Each time, the Alpha either emerged from or vanished toward that building.
Malik narrowed his eyes, tail flicking in thought.
Why the hospital?
He didn't have the answer yet. But he would.
---
A short while later, Malik padded up the leaf-strewn hill that led to a charred ruin surrounded by rusted fencing and overgrown ivy.
The Hale House.
The place still stank of ash and pain, even years later. But beneath that—there it was—Derek.
He was inside.
Malik padded forward, stopping a few feet from the porch. The faint, acrid scent of wolfsbane tickled his nose. Smart—Derek had laced the perimeter with it.
There was a creak of wood, and Derek stepped out of the doorway, eyes narrowing when he saw the giant black wolf waiting near the treeline.
Malik stepped forward, his form shivering—rippling—and then straightening into his human self. He wore only black cargo pants and boots, his torso bare, steam rising faintly from his skin in the night air.
"I figured since we're both after the Alpha," he said evenly, "we might as well start comparing notes."
Derek didn't answer right away. His expression remained unreadable, arms crossed against his chest.
Finally, he nodded. "What do you have?"
Malik took a few steps closer, careful not to cross the line laced with wolfsbane.
"All of the Alpha's scent trails lead to one place," Malik said. "No matter where they start—whether from crime scenes, chase points, or fresh kills—they either end at, or originate from, the hospital."
Derek frowned. "The hospital?"
"Yeah," Malik confirmed. "Could be a cover. Could be someone who works there."
Derek's jaw tightened. "Or someone using it as shelter."
"Exactly."
There was a long pause before Derek finally turned, gesturing toward the house.
"Come in."
Malik raised a brow. "You sure? I'm not exactly the most familiar face."
Derek looked over his shoulder. "You're the only one that's seen the Alpha and lived to track him this far. That's worth something."
Malik smirked. "Fair enough."
He stepped past the threshold, careful of the wolfsbane as the ruined door creaked closed behind him.
The Hale House creaked and groaned in the wind, the remnants of its burned-out frame whispering with the ghosts of the past. Malik sat comfortably in an old chair near the fireplace, casually sipping from a can of beer he'd found in Derek's fridge. Shirtless, relaxed, and seemingly amused, he listened as Derek traced the Alpha's movements on a dusty, scorched map stretched across the coffee table.
"Every trail, no matter how fresh or faint, either starts or ends at the hospital," Malik said, tracing the path with a finger. "If the Alpha's hiding in plain sight, he's doing it somewhere under everyone's noses."
Derek nodded, crouched low beside the table. "And no one would question blood or strange behavior at a hospital. Smart."
Before Malik could respond, the front door slammed open. Both men turned as Scott burst in, eyes wild, chest heaving.
"You son of a bitch!" Scott shouted, pointing directly at Derek. "You killed him! You killed the bus driver! And your own sister!"
Derek didn't move. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm going to the sheriff," Scott threatened. "I'm going to tell him everything. About you, about this house, all of it!"
Malik took another sip of his beer, watching silently from his seat, eyes glinting with quiet interest.
Derek's expression darkened. "You really think I'd kill my own sister?"
Scott didn't back down. "I don't know what to think anymore."
With a growl, Derek lunged forward and slammed Scott against the wall. Scott's eyes flared gold as claws burst from his fingers in reflex.
Malik leaned back slightly in his chair, lifting the beer. "Here we go…"
Scott roared and threw Derek across the room and through a half-collapsed wall. The sound of splintering wood echoed through the ruins.
Derek climbed to his feet, brushing dust off his jacket. "Cute."
His eyes flashed a fierce blue as he shifted, rushing forward with speed and power that overwhelmed Scott instantly. Their clash shook the floorboards as claws scraped and bodies crashed into broken furniture.
Malik observed, unimpressed. "This is why I work alone."
The fight was over in seconds. Derek pinned Scott to the floor, one hand around his throat—not choking, just holding.
"Enough," Derek snarled.
Scott, breathing hard, shifted back, his anger giving way to frustration. "If it wasn't you… then who bit me? Who killed the bus driver?"
"It wasn't me," Derek said simply. "But you're right about one thing. There was someone else there that night."
Scott's brows furrowed, memories rushing back in fragments—the bus, the blood, the growl in the darkness. "The third one… the one I didn't see clearly…"
"That was the Alpha," Derek confirmed. "The one who bit you. The one who killed my sister. The one we're hunting."
Scott turned to Malik, eyeing him with suspicion. "What about you? What are you?"
Malik stood and stretched, the beer can dangling casually in one hand. "Something… adjacent."
Scott frowned. "So, a werewolf?"
Malik chuckled. "No. There's no were in me. Just wolf."
Derek crossed his arms. "He's not like us. No partial shift. He's either human or a full-on beast. Strong, fast… different."
"The Alpha," Derek continued, "is stronger than both of us combined, Scott. More in tune with his instincts. More dangerous."
He paused, looking away for a moment. "My sister came back to Beacon Hills looking for him. She didn't survive."
Scott looked between them, his anger cooling into unease. "So why are you looking for it?" he asked Malik.
Malik grinned, his eyes glowing amber "To finish what we started."
That predatory gaze sent a shiver down Scott's spine. He took a half step back instinctively, making Malik smirk as he sipped the last of his beer.
Derek glanced at Scott, a small shake of his head as if silently judging his reaction. "The Alpha wants you," he said flatly. "It bit you for a reason. It wants to build a pack."
Scott looked confused. "Why me?"
"The bigger the pack, the stronger the Alpha becomes," Derek said. "You're the key to finding it."
Outside, unseen by any of them, something shifted in the darkness.
A heavy silence pressed against the charred walls.
From beyond the shattered window, glowing red eyes stared through the trees.
Watching.
Waiting.